By Ginger Desk
Get a glimpse into the “Behind the Desk” of Industry-Leader Nicole McCance, a retired psychologist turned Business Coach for Psychotherapists. Nicole shares her journey from scaling her practice to 55 therapists in just three years, selling it, and feeling compelled to help her peers achieve the same success!
What is “Behind the Desk”? It’s your exclusive glimpse into the real world of industry leaders, and a chance to uncover the unvarnished truth about what sits atop their desks. We want to share the hidden stories of diligence, determination, (and yes, occasionally even some clutter!), that make up the behind-the-scenes of success.
What is your profession/discipline and why did you choose it?
What is the official name and tagline of your business?
Who are the clients you serve and why is your work important to them?
How is your coaching business and method unique and making a difference?
When I sold my group practice for multiple 7 figures only 4 years after opening it, I really wanted to share what I had learned with my peers. I noticed that the successful practices weren’t sharing their “success secrets” so I made it my mission to share it with our industry.
It can be hard growing in a highly regulated industry. There are a lot of marketing strategies we aren’t allowed to do. I have a proprietary 5 Step Scaling Method that I used and give to members in my 6 month business coaching program. What makes my program unique is that I am a Psychologist (so I understand the industry) and Business coach that got results myself and teach others exactly what I did. Actually I don’t just teach them what I did, I give it all to them in my program. Every single process, procedure and process that I used in my clinic, that got me to 7 figures in our second year, I give my members. My hiring and onboarding plans (including the hiring contracts!), my manuals, fee chart, marketing plans, and so much more. Basically I give them a business in a box. Most therapists ready to scale are pretty overwhelmed and burnt out when they come to me, so they love that everything is basically done and they just have to customize, and of course I coach them weekly and support them along the way!
As a leader, how do you stay organized? Please tell us 2-3 things that have changed the game for you, personally and professionally, and allow you to stay productive.
Let’s start with my best friend, Siri. Everytime I have a thought, I say “Hey Siri…” and she adds a reminder for me for the next day. Then I book off the first hour of every day to go over all of the things Siri has documented for me.
Running a large group practice, what also helped me was booking in 30 mins of “white space” between clients, supervision meetings, and leadership tasks. That white space helped me with decision fatigue and also helped me be there for my team so I wasn’t always overbooked (which is a bad habit of mine).
When it comes to being successful as an entrepreneur, mindset matters. What is your mindset around how you approach business and leadership?
In terms of mindset, I learned to “do it scared.” Before I decided to start a group practice, I was in solo practice for 15 years doing EMDR and seeing couples. I loved it. I was very busy and the thought of taking the leap into group practice felt scary. But I knew that successful people “do it scared” and so I was scared but still took action. As a result my whole life changed.
In terms of leadership, I realized early on (thank god) that the therapists on my team were now my clients. I had stopped seeing clients and doing the therapy but my new job as CEO and Group Practice Owner was to keep them happy and help them reach their goals within our organization. Because without them, I had no group practice.
What does your desk look like behind the scenes? Can you describe whether it’s immaculately tidy or messy beyond measure?
What are 3 things we might find on your desk at any given moment throughout the day?
- Water bottle
- Lip gloss
- Ginger Tea – I like everything ginger!
What do you wish you knew when you first started your business that you know now?
Lastly, what about your work and the health industry in general brings you great joy?
Even though I truly thought I would be a Therapist doing therapy for my whole life, I LOVE business coaching. My most favourite part is that the results are tangible. I can see and measure the success of my members in terms of how big their team is growing, how many hours they are working less, and of course how much their income has increased. I love that part as therapy wasn’t always so measurable in terms of client gains since we were more dealing with emotional health.
Click here to read the original article.
